Re: Books
So my favorite author is Tamora Pierce, because I'm an immature shit I guess. She writes fantasy stuff, that primarily have female protagonists growing up to be heroes and stuff, and apparently feminist or something. No one I ever talk to shows any interest in her, which makes me sad.
They're not heavy or awesome tales of crazy backstabbing politics or anything, but I like them a lot.
As a short summary of the various series, there's one set in a "Tortall" universe, and one in the "Circle" universe.
The Lioness Rampant series is the first of her books, set in Tortall, and it's about a noble's girl that wants to become a knight, but is forbidden because boys only. So, she switches places with her brother, and has to hide her gender, struggle and overcome simply being weaker and smaller than the other boys of her class, going through puberty, etc. Eventually she reveals her gender (i.e. once she's knighted and they can't kick her out), and then spoilers spoilers adventures happen.
The second series is called "The Immortals" - it features Daine, who has unusually powerful wild magic that gives her the ability to commune with animals, and, as she learns to use it, shapechange into them. A powerful wizard finds and teaches her how to use her abilities. In the second book, she becomes a wolf, and joins with a pack of actual, not-wizard wolves, to investigate strange goings-on in the place they inhabit. The third has her accompanying her mentor on a diplomatic mission to their equivalent of Egypt, where the rulers there try to pry her away from her mentor, and/or recruit them to their country. Politics! Then there's a fourth book. I think dragons are involved, it's been awhile. I also recall there being a part where she almost gets raped by a minotaur or something. Traumatic times.
The third is called "Protector of the Small" - it follows another girl, who wants to become a knight. Thanks to Alanna, it's now legal - but she still faces a ton of prejudice and stuff. The heroine this time is Keladry - who had spent the majority of her childhood in their equivalent of Japan. She's a big girl, but has no magical ability, like Alanna had. Eventually, she becomes squire to one of Alanna's buddies, Raoul. As you could guess, a lot of old characters figure into this story.
Next is the Tricksters series, which follows Alanna's daughter, who goes for a little boat ride one day against her parent's wishes, and ends up getting captured by slavers. The plot synopsis for this is kinda spoilery, but suffice it to say she becomes a little more than a slave. Only two books, too, instead of the "quartet" thing this series has had up 'til now, too, which is kinda sad.
Then there's the latest series, "Provost's Dog". It's set 200 years before Alanna's time, and follows a guardswoman named Bekah, who both is from and works the lower city. It's told in a first-person diary style (or at least, the first is), and it's pretty cool.
The Circle setting differs, somewhat - no mention is made of Tortall, and it follows a little foursome of "ambient mages" - mages that use magic from around them. The main protagonists are Sandry, a friendly little nobless who's magic is based on thread and weaving; Tris, a snappish weather mage; Daja, a metal mage who used to be part of a ship-going culture of traders before they sank; and Briar, an ex-thief/street rat plant mage/herbalist.
The first four books have them all together, living in a mage community, learning their crafts and their magic - Sandry, weaving/spinning, Briar, gardening, Daja, smithing.
Each of the books feature one of the characters, who is vital to the events that happen. For example - in the first, they become trapped, and Sandry has to 'spin' their magic together, like thread, which essentially binds them together for life.
The second sees pirates attacking them with a completely unknown weapon, threatening their community. The third, they go with their mentors to another part of the realm, which is being threatened by drought and fires - and in the last, a deadly magical plague overtakes the city.
The second quartet of the series sees the protagonists as qualified mages and teachers, and they travel the world with their respective mentors, each taking on ambient mages that they find under their tutelage as well. Sandry discovers a dance-mage, son to police families in her city, who she struggles with. Briar finds a stone-mage, who he has to protect from a gang that wants to prey on her (something about gemstones). Daja goes to the wintry north, and finds a pair of them - one whose magic lies with wood, and the other in cooking. Tris, meanwhile, goes south, and finds a glass-mage glassblower artisan who was struck by lightning - losing his affinity with glass, but gaining the ability to mix the two.
There are two more books, none of which come in the quartet format - The Will of the Empress, wherein the Empress (and cousin to Sandry) of a neighboring kingdom invites Sandry to visit - so she can convince her to stay, because she wants her magical abilities. This takes place after the last, and all the four come back together - only to find that, in their years apart, they've grown apart, somewhat. The Empress is slightly fucking nuts, as people with absolute power tend to be, so it's a book about them bonding again, and dealing with the temptations and threats of the ruler.
The last book (which I've not read) is Melting Stones, which was another Briar story, wherein some shit happened with his student. It happens in between the Empress book and the last series - it's alluded to in Empress, even, but yeah.
Anway, TL;DR, I think she's good and you should totally read these things. I probably don't summarize them well, they're totally less shit when it's not me conveying things about them. :x